Of Storms and Beggars

[Tyvia]

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ARKANTOS​

7/25/12, the Boar; white on black – wreath ascendant

The smell of wine lingered even after the Magistrate's departure, Koteas noted, a faint undercurrent of sweet fermented ginger hanging in the humid evening air. The locals here, both the poor and the affluent, favored a fortified beverage made of ground ginger and sweetened with raisins; and though Koteas himself couldn't stomach the stuff, the folk of Arkantos drank it by the gallon.

“That ought to make your work easier,” his benefactor had said, offering that smug grin of his to Koteas when he'd told him of that. Yet there was little truth to those words, Koteas mused. The Arkantoans were like to discuss business but for ten minutes, up until the third cup of that damn wine reached their lips, and then all talk of terms disappeared. It was frustrating, to be sure, made even moreso by the fact that none in the House of Tydeus would meet with him – even after Magistrate Nestoriakis had put in a request.

“They've stationed troops in the valley, you know,” the magistrate had told him, his fat features wrinkled with worry. He consumed a date on the spot when he'd arrived, devouring several more as he relayed the details of his meeting to Koteas. “They're determined to keep Ephalaea out of this, almost everyone in the upper house deciding such.”

Yet there was no money for reconstruction, no money for aid, and now there were troops in the Helicoan. Nestoriakis was right to fret, for the public reaction to this could not be gauged. He might have lost some wealth or lands to the storm, but he would lose all in a true uprising – and no one in the Diadochi States, Koteas imagined, wished for a repeat of the Alynthoan Rebellion.

But what was there to do? Always late, always last, but forever proud was Arkantos. Though help was needed, they refused it – though time was short, they denied it. Ephalaea, as was its duty, was willing to provide funds, and yet this money was stubbornly refused.

The strategoi, Nestoriakis suggested, speaking of Philip Theanatos, might help them. “Appeal to the general,” he'd said, between sips of that damnable wine. “He's not a bureaucrat, and no true patriot,” the corpulent magistrate explained, “he'll listen to you, and he can help.” It was true, Koteas knew, but he'd be damned if he played that game, even if through his pudgy friend. To acknowledge the military politically in such a manner would break an unspoken taboo, and likely earn him more opponents than friends. The situation was grim, but to overstep the House via the military was unacceptable – and he doubted even his friends in Ephalaea would approve.

It was not a step Koteas would take, for it'd earn the ire of all the other cities just as much as Arkantos. Refusing the magistrate's offer, he sent him on his way, noting briefly that the back of his trousers had turned a shade darker and a great deal damper since he'd sat down.

There were other options available, certain less obvious methods one could use so as to force a proper decision. It would take work, but the dark-skinned bureaucrat, the tall and thin Koteas, had known that the moment he'd been sent east. The Helicoan was an opportunity, and though the military couldn't be acknowledged directly, it could be made to be a problem.

With a phone in hand, Georgios Koteas set out to implement his plan, words his only weapon. Arkantos would not willingly submit, but it could yet be forced to do so.

 

[Tyvia]

7/26/12, the Boar; white on black – wreath ascendant

“The seizure could be construed as a violation of the treaty,” his superior pointed out, the man's brow furrowed with worry. This was a truth, and one which Koteas had indeed counted on.

“There's going to be an armed response to this, there must be,” the aged bureaucrat droned on, a hand upraised so as to smooth back his whitening hair, “the archstrategoi[sup]1[/sup] won't like this. He won't like the seizure, he won't like the garrisoning of the Helicoan, and he won't like Theanatos' resignation.”

That was also true, Koteas noted, as all the lovely little pieces he'd been maneuvering had come together so terribly nicely. Arkantos may have refused all the Ephalaean and federal offers for support, but it'd arrived in the Helicoan regardless, and was then seized near immediately by the olive drab clad troops of the Arkantoan standing army. It was thus that a series of crises broke out in the offices of the Unified Diadochi Bank as well as those of the Unified Commissary Commission in both Arkantos and Ephalaea, wherein bureaucrats and politicians scrambled to understand and address the implications of this event.

It was plain what would happen, and the incident had been engineered with this specific purpose in mind. The forcible seizure of individuals and materials which had been under federal jurisdiction would be found unacceptable by the archstrategoi if not by the Supreme Tribunal itself, with all such personnel coming under the man's official jurisprudence. Troops would be deployed by Ephalaea itself and likely several other cities, Koteas thus reasoned, and a solution forced upon Arkantos despite its stubborn reluctance to find a sensible one.

He fought to hide his smile. “That might prove decisive,” he pointed out, helping himself to a cup of wine whilst he spoke – a western brand, Lysandrian Gold, “the archstrategoi can finally resolve all this.” There wouldn't be any bloodshed, not between Diadochi. A true war between the cities hadn't happened in near five decades, he thought, war had since simply become unprofitable.

“No,” came the flat reply. “It would mean an end to this problem, but it could open up a hundred more,” the old man continued, in that same halting manner of his, “what would the other cities think, Georgios? What would they see, and what would they believe when they see Ephalaea meddling so in Arkantos?”

“Salvation offered to a deprived people, a solution to a dire problem implemented by the unifi--. .” Koteas wasn't able to finish that sentence.

“A solution imposed is what they would see,” his colleague emphasized, his dark eyes widening as he said as much. A further draught of wine preceded any elaboration: “there is nothing they hate more, all the cities and all the states, than to have terms or conditions or solutions-- anything, forced upon them.”

“Arkantos will not fight,” Koteas insisted, his own forehead suddenly adopting a similar fold to the older man's own, likewise contorting in apparent consternation. “It can't,” he weakly let out, licking at his suddenly dry lips. “It can't,” he simply repeated.

“Arkantos will do what it believes preserves the treaty,” the old man, who'd now proven himself quite wise, declared. “Both they and the archstrategoi think to act in preservation of said treaty. Arkantos will exercise what it feels to be its freedom, nothing less.”

That was lunacy, pure and simple, Koteas reckoned. He said as much. “Then they'd fight and lose, and be worse off for it. There's no sense in fighting, not when they know their opponent has been pushed already.”

“There's no sense in refusing support in such a crisis either,” was the response, a statement to which Koteas could find no reply.

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OFFICE FOR NAVAL INTELLIGENCE
SUB-CAPTAINCY OF HOMELAND AFFAIRS
REPORT COMPILED BY ORDER OF COL. KYRILLIOS ISKARIS (ASDF)

Helicoan disposition totals: 2x regiments, 3,450 men

2nd Arkantoan Rifles Reg., 1,250 men, Com. Elias Teodrakis (A)
1st Arkantoan Auxiliary Reg., 2,200 men, Com. Georgios Afxentiou (B)​

Geography: valley extends seventeen kilometers northwest to southeast between two rises in the Pelyasian ridge. Bend two kilometers westward at four north from southernmost point (#S). Bend three northward from this point (#N). Bend westward again six from latest position (#W), valley concludes as it meets the Elaeoan Hills (#E).

Disposition: both A and B are concentrated at the mouth of the valley at its direct end, having established three segregated primary camps from whence operations are generally conducted. The operational hub is located at #N, all others at #E. All commanders and many officers are concentrated at #N camp facility, and have been observed moving between #N and #E.

Overview: military position is sound, no defensive emplacements established. Readiness level is low, as is morale. Recommend caution, A is unstable and B will not necessarily be pliable.​

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[sub]1[/sub] – the archstrategoi is the head of the council of strategoi, on which the head of every city's military chief sits. He is appointed by the Supreme Tribunal to serve as the Supreme Commander over all the armed forces of each of the free cities, and is responsible for carrying out and enforcing the Supreme Tribunal's edicts.